1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a mobile cart, and more particularly to an automatic patient transfer system, having two-side accessing ability, adapted for loading, unloading and transporting a patient from facilities to facilities.
2. Description of Related Arts
Medical attendants always require moving an injured or incapacitated patient from facilities to facilities. Conventionally, the medical attendants use a litter to carry the immobilized patient for transportation. However, the patient's physical condition, size, weight, deformities and physical impairments must be concerned when using litter. An improved transporting cart is used to substitute with the litter for transferring patient. Such transporting cart comprises a platform for supporting the patient thereon and a wheel table mounted underneath the platform in such a manner that when the wheel table is moved next to a suitable bed, the platform is adapted to sidewardly slide towards the bed so as to lift or transfer the patient from the transporting cart to the bed. However, such transporting cart has several drawbacks.
The platform can be sidewardly slid in one-single direction. In other words, the platform can be either slid from the right side or the left side of the transporting cart. Therefore, the medical attendants must remember which side of the platform can be accessed. It will waste lots of precious time for the medical attendants to move the transporting cart back to the corresponding side to the suitable bed if the transporting cart is moved at the wrong side with respect to the suitable bed. In addition, the suitable bed in the hospital must design to incorporate with the corresponding accessing side of the transporting cart.
Furthermore, the sideward sliding movement of the platform must be smooth to reduce the vibration of the platform so as to minimize the unwanted pain of the patient during the loading and unloading operation.